AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,940,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the January 15th total of 15,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.58. The stock had a trading volume of 5,783,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,156,712. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.46. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of $61.77 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $228.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.36%.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.